Customer Reviews

Myth-Ing Persons / Little Myth Marker (2-In-1)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ace Fantasy has packaged the MYTH series as collections of volumes where they package two of the stories in one book cover. In this particular instance this does not work at all as the two stories are so completely different and dissimilar that one wonders why they did it. The reason, of course, is that these two volumes happened to fall one after the other chronologically and so they ended up sharing the same cover.

The first book "Mything Persons" is classic Aahz and Skeeve. The zany story line has Aahz trying to apprehend some fugitives by cold cocking Skeeve and bursting into a world populated by vampires and werewolves. When he does not return, the rest of the gang goes in to rescue him and the normal mayhem ensues. Of course, the ending is typical with much hilarity and absolutely nonsensical events happening to end well. We are treated to all of the characters that have been following Skeeve in the past few books and get to meet some from the very first book who come back in a way that promises that they will become bigger parts in the future.

The second story is completely different. This one is really a serious reflective novel on the growth paths that adults take. At one time or another Skeeve, Aahz, Tananda, Massha, and Nunzion all reflect on what it means to grow up and how adults should behave towards one another. While there is a thin plot involving a preposterously complex card game and a character assassin hired to bring Skeeve down a notch, this is not in the same league as the previous five volumes. The humor is almost completely absent in a book that is turning rather serious. Even when the author tries to liven things up by introducing a bimbo companion to Skeeve by the name of Bunny, we find out that she is really a smart accountant who puts on the sex kitten act as a defensive mechanism!

So, if you are looking for vintage Asprin, the first volume will be to your liking while the second will drive you batty! I am wondering how the rest of the series shapes up as the second story here suggests a major departure from the norm and a completely different direction for the series to go in.

I will read the next volume (two-in-one set) just to see how it goes. I suggest you come along to, as the journet might be fun, or might be serious....

I read these books about 15 years ago in high school and recently picked them up looking for some light reading. The first two volumes of double Myth tales were enjoyable enough, but by the time I got to this collection, Asprin's style of writing was beginning to grow somewhat annoying. He goes way overboard providing explanation for the characters attitude and motivation and turns them all into well mannered polite caring do-gooders who never break a promise and always turn their enemies into new best friends. It gets old really quick.

Another major problem with the books at this point is the fact that it takes so long to establish the plot and to rope in all the supporting characters that the resolutioins seem anti-climactic at best. The second book in this collection is a bad offender in this respect as most of the book is spent with no action taking place and lots and lots of boring exposition on why everyone is so good at giving advice and helping to be a good team member. Also, the big mystery character is pretty non-mysterious and I saw the outcome of the thin plot coming a mile away.

All in all, I can't say I recommend this collection of Myth stories unless you really really really enjoyed the first two. I won't be picking up the latter installations unless I really can't find anything else to read.

Okay, call me hokey, but I love the Myth series. These two books are very enjoyable, and I read them in a single day. Next, I'm onto Myth-Adventures 2! That one is about inches thick, so probably take more than a day. These are really fun stories if you like the fantasy realm.

I was disappointed when I found my copy of myth advertures had for some reason reprinted about 80 pages of Mything-Persons and the begining of Little Myth Marker again in the middle of Little Myth Marker, then skipped to near the end so I had to purchase the book since the place I bought it from only had this misprinted copy.
It was worth paying for seperate. I loved it as my kid did. Skeeve comes of age in this one and if you make it through this one without a laugh or two it is your own fault.

Book five has Skeeve wandering around in searching for Aahz in a dimension where magic doesn't work and humans are the monsters. It's hilarious--a world of vampires and werewolves.
Little Myth Marker brings in Markie, who adds a new level of hilarity to the gang. And Skeeve goes into his high stakes Dragon Poker. Marvelous.

This was the point at which the Myth series began to go downhill, largely due to Asprin's desire to begin telling stories about Skeeve's development as a person instead of his wacky adventures. Don't get me wrong -- I love characters who grow and change -- but they should do so because of their experiences, not because the author manipulates them into continual introspection.

In Mything Persons, the last good book in the series, Skeeve discovers that someone's come into his house and then taken it on the lam out the back door. This is a very big deal, because Skeeve's house is built on a dimensional boundary -- whoever went through that door disappeared into a completely unexplored world. Upon learning that the intruders are wanted fugitives, Aahz steps through the door to find them ... and never comes back. It's up to Skeeve, Guido, and Massha to enter this world, rescue Aahz and find the fugitives.

Mything Persons is a classic Aahz-and-Skeeve adventure, where we see Skeeve operating not merely on his own but as a real leader. The alien dimension is nicely realized and evocative, and there are some nifty subplots about Skeeve's discovery of the fugitives' identity.

In Little Myth Marker, Skeeve gets peer-pressured into playing Dragon Poker -- an absurdly complex game whose rules he is clueless about -- and ends up winning the marker of a down-and-out player, said marker represented by the player's small daughter. At the same time, Don Bruce has decided that Skeeve doesn't fit the profile of a Mob boss because he doesn't have a moll, so he sends over a choice bimbo to fill the role. Worst of all, a bunch of rival magicians jealous of Skeeve's success hire the Ax, the dimensions' greatest Character Assassin, to ruin his reputation.

While there's some comedy potential in this setup, it's never realized. Instead, we get Aahz ruminating on parenthood, Nunzio talking about his odd but remarkably uninteresting past, Massha whining about being unappreciated and Skeeve delivering lectures on the battle of the sexes. Over and over, rather than dealing with their problems, the Myth crew talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.

Sadly, this book ended up being the model for the rest of the series. The next two books from Skeeve's viewpoint would consist of a brief, boring "adventure" followed by an entire chapter of Skeeve reflecting on how it changed his worldview. The only decent book after this one is MYTH Inc. in Action, and it's not good enough to justify the agony of plowing through the two books before it.